Ready to Let Go
by Quintessential Dreams
Summary: A song-fic where Ginny goes through three major points in her life that has left a mark in her heart. Warning: Character Death and very sad.


_**Ready to Let Go**_

**I do not own the Harry Potter Franchise; it belongs to all parties involved including but not limited to JK Rowling, Scholastic Books, and Warner Bros.**

**This is a song-fic (my first one, mind you) to the song **_**You Can Let Go Now, Daddy**_** sung by Crystal Shawanda; this song and idea has been rolling around in my head and I wanted to take a break from all of the challenges and competitions I've been entering. Lyrics are stationed at the bottom.**

The August sun was resting high in the sky as it watched on brightly at what was happening down below. A small child of about five looked on as her father took out the one thing she had been dying to try since she learned of her brother getting on the Quidditch team. "You ready, Gin?" Arthur asked his youngest and only daughter. Ginny looked at her father, her eyes bright and wide as she nodded. The smile came to rest on Arthur's face as his eager daughter tried to climb onto the broom. "Hang on a minute, Ginny. Let me get on first." His laugh was hearty when she nodded quickly.

Arthur rested his frame on the broom and let it lift into the sky only a tad before he held his arms out to Ginny. "I can get on now, Daddy?" she asked him. He nodded his approval and picked her up to place on the spot in front of him. She held onto the Cleansweep tightly as Arthur's hands covered hers. Her Mummy was out with her brothers to Diagon Alley to get Bill, Charlie, and Percy the items they needed for the school year. Molly had taken Fred, George, and Ron with her so that father and daughter could get some bonding time in without the boys' interference.

"Are you ready, Ginny?" She nodded again and Arthur started to raise the broom higher into the air. The wind began to pick up as the duo started to go faster and blast Ginny in the face. Her smile couldn't get any wider. The couple did some turns and one flip which left Ginny's hair windblown and her laughter the only thing to keep them going. When they touched the ground, Arthur helped his angel get off the broom. He eyed her for a moment as she looked like she was about to say something.

"Daddy?"

Arthur peered at his daughter, giving her his full attention.

"Can I ride all by myself?" Her brown eyes reflected the hope she was obviously feeling. "Please? Before Mummy and the boys get home?" He just could never say no to her.

"Of course, Gin." He held the broom and helped her get into position. "Put the broom between your legs so you can sit on it." He instructed. He held onto the handle to help her get the broom to rise. When it did, Arthur held onto it tightly in front and in back of where his daughter sat so she wouldn't fall off.

Ginny flew just a few feet above the ground as her Daddy held on tightly. "Daddy, you can let go." Her voice was soft as she looked at her father, a smile on her lips. "I want to do this on my own like Bill and Charlie." Arthur struggled with an inner battle to give his daughter this little bit of freedom that she had asked for. If he did and she fell off he would never forgive himself. She was so delicate. "It's still kind of scary, but I want to do it. Please?" His last resolve was dissolved with that sweet and precious _please_.

"Of course, my Ginny." She was the first Weasley girl to be born in such a long time – she was just so special. And so, he let go of the broom and watched as his little Ginny rode around the backyard and relatively the same height they had stayed at. She was having the time of her life and there was nothing he could say or do – not that he wanted to – to get her down. She must have stayed on that broom for a good twenty minutes before he spoke again. "Mummy's going to be home soon, Gin." She flew over to him and he helped her land.

"I'm still okay, Daddy!" Ginny screamed her arms high in the air and her hair windblown. "That was brilliant!"

"I'm glad, love. You've made me so proud." Arthur told her as he picked her up, swung her around and hugged her tightly to him.

xxx

Everyone was gathered at the Burrow for a grand event; Ginny's wedding to Harry Potter. There were so many people there from their family as it was a closed event. None of the reporters were allowed to enter the premise and barriers were set up so only certain people that had gotten an invite were allowed to enter. Ginny stood in the kitchen with her Mum, Hermione, and Fleur as they tried to put the remaining details to finish the wedding robes Ginny wore.

The gown she had on were a soft white with a lilac tint to them. Hermione had done her hair in an elegant twist with curls everywhere. Fleur had helped with the small amount of make-up that helped accentuate her natural beauty. Molly waited till Hermione and Fleur were finished and left the kitchen into the family area to let mother and daughter have one last time together before she became a Potter for the rest of her life.

"You look beautiful, Ginny." Molly told her only daughter as she placed the tiara on top of Ginny's curls where it would rest the entirety of the night. "Harry is a lucky man to have you."

"I'm so nervous Mum." Ginny admitted to her mother. Molly took her youngest child into her arms and held her for a moment to help comfort Ginny. "I'm terrified. What if things go wrong? What if some of the left over Death Eaters find a way in?"

Molly looked at her daughter's tear-streaked eyes. "Oh love, they can't get in. Your Dad and I put up some of the strongest wards we know."

"I know Mummy… but they got into Hogwarts; who's to say they can't get in here?"

"Oh, Ginny, they can't get in. You-Know-Who could only get in because he had the Elder Wand. Harry explained it to us." Ginny sniffled and nodded. "They can't get in. I promise, love." Molly kissed the top of Ginny's head where the tiara rested and smiled. "The ceremony is starting soon."

"If Daddy's not conducting the ceremony, then who is?" Her mother had handled almost everything and it had calmed Ginny greatly.

"Minerva said she would love to marry Harry and you. Everything is set, Ginny. Your Dad's waiting for you." Ginny turned to see her father standing just outside the door, a watery smile filled out Arthur's face as he looked at his daughter. "Go on, love. I'll be in the crowd. And remember, no Death Eater can ruin this day for you. It is your day." Ginny nodded and watched as her mother, Hermione and Fleur all left through the door and Arthur came in.

"My Ginny. You're so grown up." He placed a kiss to her cheek. "You ready, Gin?" The words were a repeat of what he had asked the first time she had ridden the broom and the first time she was going to Hogwarts. All of that seemed so far away now and here she was, about to marry the first boy she had ever had a crush on. Ginny repeated her action from all those years ago and just nodded, afraid to talk.

Arthur opened the screen door and guided Ginny out. Out of her father's love for muggles, Ginny had decided that she was going to have a wedding similar to theirs as well as the Wizarding one. She looked ahead of her and instead of dress robes, Ginny saw Harry wearing what muggles called a tuxedo. In muggle tradition, the woman also had a best woman called a maid of honour and she had asked Hermione to be her maid of honour as Ron was Harry's best man.

The two walked down the aisle together and when they reached the end, Ginny felt her Dad squeeze her hand tightly. She was now standing between the two men she loved most in her life. Two loves; one a father, the other a soon to be husband. "Welcome to the wedding of Miss Ginevra Molly Weasley and Mr. Harry James Potter. And who gives away this beautiful woman?"

Arthur held on tighter to Ginny and when she looked at him, his watery eyes had come back with a vengeance and slowly slid down his cheeks. Turning to her father, Ginny bumped her forehead against her father's as her lips reached up to his ear. Whispering in his ear, she said something akin to what she had said the day that they rode the broom. "You can let go now, Daddy. I promise I'll be alright. Harry will take care of me now. I think I'm ready to do this on my own. I'm terrified but I promise I'll be alright. I love you, Daddy." Tears swam in both sets of eyes as Ginny pulled away. Arthur placed a kiss to Ginny's forehead once more before he smiled at his little girl – his only girl.

"I love you too, Ginny. Make me proud." He told her; the only advice he had told her. She had already made him proud once and promised to take that advice once again.

xxx

Arthur had been going to St. Mungo's hospital a lot lately. He was getting older in age and many things were failing – many things that the healers said they couldn't play with. They were letting things run its course and it was going downhill quickly. It was taking a toll on everyone, but Ginny seemed to be taking it the hardest. She had gone to see him every day he laid in that hospital bed. He looked so much different than what he had the day of her wedding. That day, he was so healthy and full of life, but when Ginny looked at him now, his eyes had sunken him and his cheeks seemed hollow.

Harry had gone with her only a few times before he couldn't go any longer as someone needed to take care of the kids. James was still learning to write, Al still learning to tell them the whole alphabet and his precious Lily was still potty training. It was something he worked on with each child and she needed her Daddy – much like Ginny needed hers. And that was what he had told the kids; why Mummy wasn't home every night to tuck them in at night. Mummy was visiting Granddad. Their precious Lily had asked why Mummy was visiting Granddaddy without them and he had to explain to the two-year-old that Granddaddy was hurting a lot and was in the hospital. Lily still hadn't understood entirely well why Mummy could visit Granddaddy without her, but she seemed to have been placated for the time being.

When Ginny did come home – as she had spent some times overnight, just holding her Dad's hand – she would go into the kids' rooms and give each of them a kiss long after they had fallen asleep. Tonight was one of those nights she had stayed the night, just holding Arthur's hand, sitting in silence. Her eyes were streaked with tears as she looked at him. There seemed to be nothing left of the man she had known all those years ago. Something was eating him away from her and it killed. "Mrs. Potter…" Ginny looked up to see Hannah, a sweet girl who had been taking care of her father while no one was around. "The only reason he's still holding on is because of you."

"How do you know?" Ginny asked.

"When you've been a Healer for ten years, Mrs. Potter, you get to know when someone had no one to live for. Your father has you to live for. The only reason he hasn't gone yet is because you're here, letting him know you still care and love him. Your brothers and mother only come once a week nowadays. I've seen you here every day and some days I wonder if you stay the night."

"Thank you Healer Johnson." It was the last thing Ginny said to the Healer as she had left. Her jaw trembled as she looked at her Dad. He was barely conscious in his drugged state. He was definitely not in a state of pain and Ginny held his hand again. She felt her heart breaking over what she needed to say.

Twice she had told him it already and now, it was really time for her to let her Daddy go; to let him be pain- and drug-free. Her eyes filled with tears as she crawled into the hospital bed where her Daddy laid. It was time

"It's t-time for you to l-let go, Daddy." She barely said, her sobs choking her. "You're little girl is ready to live her life; you've raised me right. And now, you can let go." She kissed her father's forehead – a gesture he did to her so many times in her life. "Tell Freddie everyone misses him greatly. Tell Dumbledore thank you for taking care of Harry for so long. For Snape that he was brave for defying something he truly thought right. Tell Remus and Tonks their son looks and acts just like them. That Teddy reminds Harry of Remus so much. Just like Harry reminded him of James." Ginny had to stop talking; it all just hurt too much. I love you, Daddy." The hand that held onto her own went limp. The tears finally came out as they completely took over. She had finally gotten it out. It was done and Arthur could finally rest in peace. "I'll be okay… we'll all be okay. Mummy, Bill, Charlie, George, Percy, Ron and me… we'll all remember you. Oh Merlin… I love you, Daddy." And that was when the Healers came in, having gotten a silent alert that someone major had happened to one of their patients.

Wind blowin' on my face  
>Sidewalk flyin' beneath my bike<br>A five year-old's first taste  
>Of what freedom's really like<br>He was runnin' right beside me  
>His hand holdin' on the seat<br>I took a deep breath and hollered  
>As I headed for the street<p>

You can let go now, Daddy  
>You can let go<br>Oh, I think I'm ready  
>To do this on my own<br>It's still a little bit scary  
>But I want you to know<br>I'll be ok now, Daddy  
>You can let go<p>

I was standin' at the altar  
>Between the two loves of my life<br>To one I've been a daughter  
>To one I soon would be a wife<br>When the preacher asked,  
>'Who gives this woman?'<br>Daddy's eyes filled up with tears  
>He kept holdin' tightly to my arm<br>'Till I whispered in his ear

You can let go now, Daddy  
>You can let go<br>Oh, I think I'm ready  
>To do this on my own<br>It still feels a little bit scary  
>But I want you to know<br>I'll be ok now, Daddy  
>You can let go<p>

It was killin' me to see  
>The strongest man I ever knew<br>Wastin' away to nothin'  
>In that hospital room<br>'You know he's only hangin' on for you'  
>That's what the night nurse said<br>My voice and heart were breakin'  
>As I crawled up in his bed, and said<p>

You can let go now, Daddy  
>You can let go<br>Your little girl is ready  
>To do this on my own<br>It's gonna be a little bit scary  
>But I want you to know<br>I'll be ok now, Daddy  
>You can let go<br>You can let go


End file.
